Active camera shake correction technologies have so far been put into practical use to obtain a clear image by correcting misalignment of an optical axis caused by camera shake. There is known three types of camera shake correction technologies including the first type that a part of an image pickup optical system is moved, the second type that the whole of the image pickup optical system is moved and the third type that an image pickup element is moved.
Among these active camera shake correction technologies, the third type of technology providing the camera shake correction that an image pickup element moves in a plane perpendicular substantially to an optical axis of the image pickup optical system, has an advantage that the technology can cope with all imaging optical systems to be used.
With respect to the third type of technology that the image pickup element moves, TOKUKAI No. 2003-110929 discloses an image pickup apparatus provided with: a printed board in which an image pickup element and another electric component arranged and which moves with the image pickup element; and a flexible printed board having one end connected to the printed board.
The image pickup apparatus disclosed in the aforesaid patent document is provided to improve space efficiency of the total device. However, the flexible printed board for connecting between the image pickup element that moves and another printed board that does not move are incorporated to the image pickup apparatus with sufficient slack as illustrated, and the image pickup apparatus needs an enough space for this slack.
The greater an amount of this slack of the flexible printed board is, the more the load resistance caused by the printed board when an image pickup element and its peripheral member both representing a moving body can be reduced, resulting in a contribution to downsizing of an actuator and to electric power saving. However, a space to slacken the printed board needs to be secured, resulting in an obstacle for further downsizing.